Eric Loh

22 minutes ago, robblok said:

Eric, the farmer was never convicted for picking mushrooms but for illegal logging. The farmer said he was picking mushrooms but his motorcycle was found near the illegal logging site. The charge was illegal logging NOT picking mushrooms. That is what the farmer said. 

 

Latest what i know of the case is that they are now giving the farmer a huge fine unless he gives up his boss for who he logged. 

 

So he was never convicted for picking mushrooms but for illegal logging his excuse for being at the place of the illegal logging was that he was picking mushrooms and the judge did not believe that.

“The Supreme Court on Tuesday reduced the prison sentences given a mushroom-picking couple from 15 years to five yearseach for forest encroachment”.

He confessed to forest encroachment so he could get a shorter prison time. For his mushroom picking, he got 15 years. 

How many years did the poor old farmer got for picking mushroom? Travesty of justice for the wealthy and connected. 

32 minutes ago, Pilotman said:

My wife's family voted for Thaksin, until I told them the real story behind his crooked past and showed them a few reports on the internet, then they quickly changed their minds.  Ignorance is not democracy.  

You could have told them about the junta corruption so they don’t have to make a binary choice. Anyway I hope they don’t give you false pretense when they in their polling booth. Will be your ignorance if they vote otherwise. 

2 hours ago, daboyz1 said:

My wife is dragging me out to isaan this weekend so she can vote. Whoever wins, it will devolve into the same old thing. Protests and riots in Bangkok followed by another coup. Just let the military run the country. Look at the Philippines or Malaysia. Both political nightmares.

Sent from my SM-A730F using Thailand Forum - Thaivisa mobile app
 

Did you protest when your wife dragged you out? I guess you just allowed yourself to be told. Having live in Malaysia for more than a decade, Malaysian will never be told what to do especially from the military. There will be blood on the streets if the military stage a coup. By the way, the military is much more discipline in their roles as defender against external threats. Polar opposite of the military here. 

He is standing for election and not rigging the outcome. Good enough for me. 

17 minutes ago, malagateddy said:

Thought you were on about the eu for a minute

They had a coup? I must have slept through it. 

5 hours ago, webfact said:

PM touts village fund

Selling Thaksin's policy. How did this happen? 

9 minutes ago, OneMoreFarang said:

Are they still not dissolved? Maybe this week? At some stage all these people have to learn that working for the fugitive criminal is not in the interest of Thailand.

Dissolve the party and ban them from politics for at least 10 years - and things will get better.

A Hun Sen’s thought so early in the morning. Touching. 

22 minutes ago, Chassa said:

Who shot who?

EC is holding the smoking gun, 

9 hours ago, Jip99 said:

 

 

Hold that fantasy..............

Really we both have constructing fantasy. You hope for continue authoritarian governing while I wish and hope the people gets their freedom to mandate their leaders and their life.      

5 minutes ago, madmen said:

The only possible explanation is they dont want Prayut out. Time will tell not long now

You don't need an explanation when you have the whole machinery working on your behalf and a coup at the ready to keep him in. Even blind Freddy can see through the trickery of the junta to rig the election and have him keep his job. Then what happen. Time will tell if he will be dumped ceremoniously or unceremoniously. 

12 minutes ago, monkfish said:

Well this is Thailand and donations are not unheard of.
But I do wonder if the current PM's wife bought some land if he would go to prison for it.
Somehow I don't think so.
 

The junta amnesty include corruption. 

8 minutes ago, Hank Gunn said:

"I know no safe depositary of the ultimate powers of the society but the people themselves; and if we think them not enlightened enough to exercise their control with a wholesome discretion, the remedy is not to take it from them, but to inform their discretion by education. This is the true corrective of abuses of constitutional power." - Thomas Jefferson

Goodness, that quote from TJ is more than 200 years old and still hold true to this day. Now who is the numbnut who dispute that. 

10 minutes ago, Jip99 said:

 

 

Except in the futility of the outcome....

Some like you may hope that it’s just futility but history provide reasons to be hopeful when the grassroots have a cause and leaders. I am in that latter camp. 

“With the advantage accorded by the current charter – which allows the new Senate, handpicked by the National Council of Peace and Order, to vote for the next PM – it will not be difficult”

Cant argue with that. Prayut will win by rigging the law and crony agencies. He has no chance in a free and fair election. 

11 minutes ago, Mexlark said:

But is the situation really any better now? He basically encouraged certain people to shoot a whole load of minor dealers in the back because someone had been leading his son into trouble. Pure spite really. That also had the effect of preventing any investigation of much bigger and more important investors in narco-biz (who are heavily embedded in the local elite). All in all, a shoddy piece of politics.

 

Agreed, no one here really cares a toss about this issue. Likewise, they don't really care a toss about numerous other major Thaksin policy FUs: the deep South, to name just one.

Not really spite but concern from the highest institution that drug was too rampant in a speech in 2002. The phrase 'war on drugs' was not coined by Thaksin. Even Privy council called for a special court to deal with drug dealers. That was the depth of the seriousness of drugs at that time. As you said. lets move on and beyond him. 

10 minutes ago, robblok said:

He did get away with it he is still free and still influencing the PTP anyone thinking that he pulled his hands off PTP control is not a realist. He got punished (marginally) but yes its more then others have.

 

Anyway the nation was totally clear there was a democracy in place when he was convicted and his party was in power. What they forgot are all the other cases against Thaksin. The man is a crook and we would be far better off without him. Now if he could take Suthep and Prayut and Prawit with him and Charlem and Yattuporn with him for retirement then Thai politics would be rid of some of the fossils holding it back.

He is still free because none of the countries that he went and resided believed that his crimes were not politically influenced and thus didn't followed the extradition demands by the Thailand  government. Most see the 2006 coup as class conflicts between the rural poor who supported Thaksin and the urban elite who supported the military. 

Thaksin cases were investigated by the coup government appointed Assets Examination Committee. Its finding lead to the court rulings against Thaksin - 2 years imprisonment and confiscation of 40 B Baht for being 'unusually rich'. Far better off for him to be given a trial again as suggested by King Prajadhipok Institute and Thanathorn. He should be put away by non partisan judiciary and the coup leaders trialed for corruption and treason. Then Thai politics will be better off.